Card-feeding mechanism



July 3, 1928.

J. B. HQWE CARD FEEDING MECHANISM 5 sheetsvsheet 1 Filed Nov. 16, 1926jnveniar JosephfiJ i ou/e July 3, 1928. 1,675,756

J. B. HOWE ARD FEEDING IECHANISI Filed Nov. 16; 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 cs phli fowe,

- @z @wm Patented July 3, 1928.

UNITED- sures.

PATENT oFFies.

'JOSEPI-I B. HOWE, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE S, HAE- WOOD & EJON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A COPARTNERSHIP CONSISTING OFSYDNEY JFLARVJQO13!, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AND JOHN H. HARVIOOD, OF

BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

CARD-FEEDING MEoHn'NI'sM.

Application filed November is, 1926. Serial N10; 148,688;

This invention pertains to feeding mechanism of carding machines andrelates more particularly to automatic weighing mechanism for use insuch machines;

For convenience of illustration the present' invention is shown asapplied to a Bramwell feeder provided with automatic weighing mechanismof the general character disclosed in the patent to Howe No.

1,5313%4, dated March 31, 1925.

In my aforesaid patent I disclosed a dumping scale pan" having, amovable bottom wall or closure nien'iher and ii'idependent levers forcausing said closure member to open and for restoring it to closedposition respectively. In the same patent I also disclosed a pairofswinging abutment levers for damping heoscillations of the pan when thelatter'is restored to load'receiving position" after" dumping.

The present invention relates to certain improvements in the mechanismdisclosed in the aforesaid'patent and iarticularly to the provision of asimplifie d construction in which the same moving part first causes thepan to open and subsequently closes it, said part' also comprising meansfor damping the oscillations of the pan.

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 Braniwell feeder of the typedisclosed in 'my aforesaid Patent No. 1,531,944, having the presentimprovements embodied therein F 2 is a fragmentary end elevation tolargerscale, showing the pan'in loadreceivin position;

hi 8 is a view riniilar'to Fig; 2 butsho'win}: the parts positioned inreadiness for dumping the'pan;

Fig. 1 is a view similar to Fig 2 but showing'the pan wide open, andwith the parts positioned in readiness for closing the pan and elevatingthe scalebeain;

,F in. 5 1s a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the parts at theinstant that the is anend'elevation of a modified 18, 1911; No. 1,434,058, October 31, 1922; No. 1,531,944, March 31, 1925; and No;1,531,945, March 31, 1925, may be referred to, but it is'to beunderstood that the present invention is not necessarily limited to usein machines suc'h'as disclosed in said patents, but'in'its broaderaspectsmay be found of utility in' connection with dumping scale pans ofother types and for other purposes.

Referring. to the drawings; thenuineral' 1 indicates one end of theframe of a' Br'amwell feeder of substantially usual type. This feeder isprovided with a bin 2' at its rear end for the reception of the'fibe'rtobe treated. A shaft 3 extends aci'oss'the' upper portion of the binand supports a vibrating apron, not shown, while a shaft 4- isjoin-nailed at the upperrear portion of the frame and supports andactuatesan oscillating co'nib,- not showiii I At the front of themachine a forwardly projecting bracket 5'is provided whichsupparts anendlesscoiiveyor 6 which is driven by means of ashaft 7 receiving itsmotion from a carding machine, not shown, with which the macliiriehereindisclosed isassociated. A niain driveisliaft 8 is journalled inbearihgsin the lower part of the frame and this'shaft is provided with a pulleyor other driving means receiving its motion from any desiredsource,'while a shaft 9 is jourhallecli in beairiiig's in the frame justabove and" to the rear of theinain shaft 8 andis drivenby means of agear 10 carried by the main shaft. A pulley 11 is secured tothe shaft 9.A. shaft 12 is jouri ialledin bearings at "the upper part of the frameand this shaft is provided with a clutch mechanism, comprising a pulley13 which is driven by means of a belt from the pulley 11. A shaft ltextends across the frame at itslower part and is provided with a rolleror other suitable means for guiding an end lessspikeapronwhichpassesover a driving roller mounted on the shaft 12. At thefront ofth'e machine iiearits top'a shaft 15 is journalled whichreceives intermittent osc'illat-ing'motion from the shaft 12.

The clutch mechanism for driving the shaft 12 comprises a disengagingelement 17 provided with projecting teeth 7 18 this clutch being;ifdesired, of the type disprovided with a spring which bears resilientlyagainst the arm,

The weighing mechanism comprlses a composite scale beam consisting oflike 5 members such as 21 disposed at opposite sides of the machine andfulcrumed on supporting brackets such as 22. The members 21 arepreferably counterweighted as inclicated at .23 and are turned upwardlyat their forward ends to provide bearings at 24 for the oppositeends ofa pivotally sup ported scale pan 25.

r This scale pan is of, the dumping variety, open at the top and havingfront and rear walls 26 and 26 and end walls 27. The bottom of the panis normally closed and preferably comprises the bottom wall members or.closures 28 and 28%Yrespectively, which normally engage each other alongtheir edges 29 and 29 The members 28 and 28 are secured to shafts 30'and30, respectively,

journalle d atthe lower edges of the front and rear members 26 and 26The shafts 30 and 30 are actuated to move the members 28 and 28 to andfrom closed position by means of levers 31 and 32 respectively. Member32 is provided atits rear extremity with an outwardlyprojectingactuating pin 33 which is received in an elongate slot 34 in the free'extremity of the lever 31. Preferably the pin 33 is ad; 'justablelongitudinally of the lever. 32, al-' though this is not essential. I

When the pan occupies the position shown in Fig. 2 the pin 33 is lockedin the upper end of the slot'34 by means of a latch 37. This latch ispivoted upon a pin 36 carried by a bracket projecting from the lever 31til) and is preferably provided with a counterweight 38 at its outer endtending to retain the latch in operative position. The latch is providedwith an abutment shoulder 39 which normally engages the pin 33 to holdthe latter in the upperend of the slot in the lever '31 as indicated inFig. 2.

The latch also comprises a releasing arm 40 provided with. asubstantially horizontal toe portion 41. Depression of this toe portion41 below its normal position raises the arm 37 and releasesthe shoulder39 from the pin 33', permitting the latter to slide along the slot inthe 'arm,31, thus allowing the closure members 28 and 28 to open,dumping the contents of the pan.

A shaft 41 is journalled in suitable bear ings in the end frame of themachine and a gear 42 is secured to'this shaft. This gear meshes with agear 43 mounted on a stub shaft 44 secured to the end frame of themachine.- A sprocket wheel is connected to the gear 43 and is driven bymeans of a chain 45 .WlllCll passes about a' sprocket wheel on the shaft7. V

The shaft 44 is furnishedwith a pair of angularly disposed crank arms 46and 47 respectively, provided with crank pins preferably consisting offreely turning rolls 4S and 49, respectively.

A shaft'5O is secured to the machine frame at a point above and slightlyforward of the shaft 44 and upon this shaft a lever 51 is mounted.Thislever is provided with a bracket 53 carrying the laterallyprojecting pin 52 disposed substantially above the toe 41 of thelatch-releasing arm 40 al-" though normally the pin 52 is spaced from"the toe 41 so that itdoes notin any way interferewith the freedom ofmovement of the pan duringweighing.

Preferably, although not necessarily, I mount a bracket 54 3) upon theupper .edgeof the lever 51 near the end of the latter and provide thebracket with an open recess or notch 55 constituting a socket for thereception of the projecting actuating 'pin 33 above referred to. Thesocket 55 is normally disposed below thepin 33 and in a position suchthat when the scale beam has tipped and the pan hasropened, the pin 1justv above or within the socket but preferably without bottomingagainst the lower surface of the socket.

Preferably the lever 51 comprises two parts which are adjustablyconnectedby a bolt and slot connection at 56, but this construction isnot essential and forms no necessary part of the present-invention. Thelever 51 is furnished with an arm 57 which is provided with cam surfaces58 and 59. he cam surface 59 is normally disposed in the path of theroll 49 carried by the crank arm 47 the shape of the cam surface 59being such that as the crank arm 4' turns in a clockwise direction itmoves the cam surface 59 inwardly toward the shaft 44,,tl1us swingingthe lever 51 in a counterclockwise direction.

The cam surface 58 is disposed in the path of theroll 48 carried by thecrank arm 46 and isso arranged that as the crank arm turns, the arm 57and lever 51 are turned in a clockwise direction. As'the crank arms 46and 47 are angularly spaced, they act 7 having an adjustable abutment 62engagingthe position indicated in Fig. 5.

the under side ofthe arm51. Thelever .60 is provided at its rear endwith a C011Ilt1' weight-63 whichsubstantially balances the lever 51 andthe parts carried thereby so as to hold the level-'51 normally in theposition shown in F ig. 2L A stop pin 6% may be provided for limitingthe downward swingof the lever '60, but since the lever arm 51 restsfreely upon the abutment 62,

the arm51 may be lifted freely above the.

position shown in-FigpZ, thus moving away from the stop62.

A third lever 65. is, in the present instance, mounted upon the shaft50, and this lever is provided with a camv surface (not shown) which isalso engageable by the roller 48. The lever 65 is furnished with an arm67 (Fig. 2:). carrying a pin 68 engaging an elongate slot 69 in the rod79 which, as more fully described in my Patent No. 1,5313%, constitutesmeans for resetting the dog 19.

In the operation of the machine and while the scale pan is being filledthe shaft 4% is turning slowly, but the crank arms 46 and 47 are movingthrough that portion. of their path remote from the lever arms. 57. and65. lVhen the pan has received its proper load it tips the scale beam.downwardly until the beam occupies the position indicated. in Fig.

3. At about this time, or slightly thereafter,

the roll 49 engages the cam member 59 and begins to swing the lever arm57 in a counterclockwise direction. The arm 51 is thus moved. in thesame direction'until the pin.

scale pan still. being open. However, I

prefer to arrange the counterweight 23 so that when the pan is dumped itremains at its lowermost positionv until. mechanically raised.

Soon after the pan has been opened, the roller Q8 comes into engagementwith the cam surface 58, it being understood that the roller 49haspreviously disengaged the cam surface 59. Continued movement of thecrank arm 46 swings the lever arm57 in a.

clockwise direction, thus swinging the arm 51 upwardly. The notch 55engagesthe pin 33 sooner or later and the continued movement of thelever 51 gradually closes the pan, at the same time lifting the pan andmoving the scale beam toward-normal position. The lever 51 continues tomove upwardly until it has passed itsnormal position and reached At thispoint the pin has been restored to. the upper end of the slot inthelever arm 31 and the latch 37 is free to drop behind the pin 33, thusretaining the bottom members of the pan in closed: position, thescalebeam engaging a stop which-limits its upward movement.

The pin 33 is spaced a substantial distance from the fulcrum point 94Lof the scale pan and substantially in the vertical plane of suchfulcrum, and as the notch 55 of the lever 51 movesv in a predeterminedpath and as the pin 33 is embraced this notch, itis evident that the pin33 must move in a, substantially fixed path during its upward travel sothat the pan is prevented from oscillating about its fulcrum. Since thepin 33 remains in the notch 55 until the pan has been fully re stored.to load receiving position, it is substantially impossible for the panto oscillate to any substantial degree, and if slight oscillations areset up, the side walls of the notch 55 engage the pin 33 so to damp suchoscillations.

hen the cam roll l8 disengages cam surface 58 the lever 51 drops back toits normal position wherein it is spaced-,from the pin and also from thetoe ll of the latchreleasing lever. The parts are thus restored tonormal positiou and are ready to receive another load of material.

In usual manner the operation of lever 35, through the rod 7 9, resetsthe dog 19 so that the-shaft 12 which was stopped by the downwardtipping of the scalebeam is now 1.'e stored to action and fiber is againfed into the scale pan preparatory to a second weighing operation.

I claim;

1.,A machine of the class described comprising a scale beam, a dumpingscale pan supported thereby, a movable closure for the pan, a leveroperative both to initiate openingof said closure and to restore theclosure to normal closed position, and power actuated means forpositively moving said lever alternately in opposite directions.

2. A machine of the class described comprising a scale beam, a dumpingscale pan supported thereby, a mo "able closure for the pair, a powerdriven shaft, a lever, and cooperating elements carried by the shaft andlever respectively for positively moving the lever alternately inopposite directions whereby to initiate opening of said closure and torestore the closure to closed position,

respectively.

3. A machine. of the class described comprising a scale beam, a dumpingscale pan supported thereby, a movable closure for the pan, a singlelever for initiating opening of the closure and for restoring theclosure to normal position, a pair of cam elements carried. by thelover, a power driven shaft, and spaced members carried by said shaft,said members successively engaging the respective cam elements therebyposirections. a

4:. A machine of the class described comprising a scale beam, a dumpingscale pan supported thereby, a movable closure for the pan, a powerdriven shaft, angularlyspaced crank arms carried by the shaft, each armhaving a crank pin, and a single lever for initiating opening'of theclosure andfor restoring the closure to normal position, said leverhaving an arm provided with cam surfaces eccentric to the axis of theshaft and engageable by the respective crank pins whereby to oscillatethe shaft.

5. A machine of the class described comprising a scale beam and a scalepan supported thereby, the pan havinga movable closure, latch meansnormally operative to retain the closure in closed position, said latchmeans comprising an actuating pin and a releasing arm, a lever havingparts normally disposed below and above but spaced from the actuatingpin and releastivelyto oscillate the lever in opposite diing armrespectively, a counterweight for holding the lever in normal position,a power driven shaft, and angularly spaced members carried by the shaftand successivelyenga'ging portions of the lever for oscillating thelever. I

6. Ajmachine of the class described com prising a scale beam supportinga dumping scale pan having-a latch controlled closure, a single leveroperative, after the scale beam has tippeclin response to a load in thepan, first to release the latch whereby to permit the closure to open,and subsequently to restore the scale beam to normal position and toclose the pan and to close the pan and reset the latch, and poweractuated means for moving the lever alternately in opposite directions.

' 7. A machine of the class described comprising a scale beam and ascale pan supported thereby, the pan'having a movable closure, latchmeans normally operative to retain the'closure in closed position, saidlatch means comprising an actuating pin and a releasing arm, and a leverhaving parts normally positioned below and above the actuating pin andreleasing arm, respectively, and means for first swinging the leverbelow and then above its normal position.

SVA machine of the class described comprising a dumping scale pan havinga movable closure, latch means normally, retaining the closure in closedposition, said latch means having releasing and resetting elements, andmeans for releasing the latch means comprising a lever having partsnormally above and below the releasing and resetting elements,respectively, and. power actuated meansfor'moving the lever in onedirection whereby to engage one of sald parts with the'releasing elementand for there- 7 after moving the lever inthe opposite direction wherebyto 'engagethe otherof said;

closure, latch meansnormally operative to V retain the closure in closedposition, said latch means comprising an actuating pin and a releasingarm, a lever having a lateral projection normally disposed above saidreleasing arm, the lever'also having an element disposed below said pin,and power actuated means for swinging the lever alternately in oppositedirection. 7' I 10. A machine of the class described'comprising ascalebeam and a scale pan supported thereby, the pan having a movableclosure, latch means normally operative to retain the closure in closedposition, said latch means comprising van actuating pin and a releasingarm, a'lever having parts engageable alternately with the releasing armand actuating pin. respectively, cam elements carried by the lever, andmeans engageable with said cam' elements for positively oscillating thelever in opposite 1directions.

11. A machine of the class described comprising a scale beam, a dumpingscale pan fulcrumed upon the beam, an abutment member carried by thepan, a single clever having a part cooper-able with said abutment torestore the beamto normal position after it has tipped in response to aload-in the pan, said abutment and cooperating part,

being so relatively shaped as to damp oscil lations' of the pan aboutits fulcrum on the beam, and means for sw nging the lever to bring saidabutment and cooperating part into engagement} 7 12. A machine of theclasse describedcomprising a scale beam,'a dumping scale pan:

the pan, and to damp oscillations. of the pan about its fulcrum on thebeam, and power actuated means for moving said lever alternately inopposite directions,

13. A machine of the class described comprising a scale beam,"a scalepan fulcrumed upon the beam, an abutment pro ect1ng from the pan at apoint spaced from the fulcrum,

and means constraining saidabntment to move in a predetermined pathwhile the beam 1s returning to normal position, after tlpping inresponse to a load in the pan,

whereby substantially to prevent oscillations V of the pan about itsfulcrum on the beam.

let. A machine'of the class described com-V prising a scale beam, ascale pan fulcrumed upon the beam, a pin projecting from the pan at apoint spaced from the pan fulcrum, a lever having an element providedwith a notch for receiving said pin, and means operative, after the beamhas tipped in response to a load in the pan, to move the lever wherebyto engage the notch with the pin and restore the beam to normal positionwhile preventing oscillation of the pan about its fulcrum on the beam.

15. A machine of the class described comprising a scale beam, a scalepan fulcrumed on the beam, a pin projecting from the pan at a pointspaced from and substantially in the vertical plane of the fulcrum ofthe pan, a member having a socket notch for the reception of said pin,and means for moving said member in a predetermined path, while the pinis confined in said notch, whereby to return the beam to normalposition, after it has tipped in response to a load in the pan, Whilesubstantially preventing oscillation of the pan about its fulcrum on thebeam.

16. A machine of the class described comprising a scale beam, a dumpingscale pan fulcrumed upon the beam, an abutment pin carried by the pan, amember having a notch for receiving said pin, and means for moving saidnotched member into engagement with the abutment pin whereby to .damposcillations of the pan about its fulcrum on the beam.

Signed by me at Worcester, Massachusetts, this 26th day of October,1926.

JOSEPH B. HOW'E.

